The Life of Faith — Allan Pole Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson went on a camping trip. As they lay down for the night Holmes said, “Watson, look up into the sky and tell me what you see.” Watson replied, “I see millions and millions of stars.” “And what does that tell you?”
Most people miss the significance of Christmas. Is it all about Santa Claus, shopping, exchanging gifts or eating a lot of food? Is it about spending time with family? Or even about the baby in the manger? Don’t answer this last question too quickly. Instead of focusing on the baby in the manger, I want to
May I Ask You A Question — Allan Pole Someone recently asked me what I thought they should do about a situation they faced. The answer seemed obvious to me, with several Bible passages coming to mind—which I had just shared with this person. I bit my tongue, resisting the urge to quote
Selective Speaking — Allan Pole By Allan Pole, CESLM Board President King Solomon shares a great insight for relationships in Proverbs 9:8-9: “So don’t bother rebuking mockers; they will only hate you. But the wise, when rebuked, will love you all the more. Teach the wise, and they will be wiser. Teach the
Be Patient — Allan Pole Be patient. I can’t count the number of times I’ve said this to others, and others to me. “I would have been a doctor, but I didn’t have the patience.” Ironically, not all doctors who have many patients, have a lot of patience. Several elderly church members were
Be Gentle — Allan Pole Be gentle. I have said this often to young children when touching newborn babies or animals. It seems that we never outgrow the need for this occasional reminder. Paul the Apostle provides such a reminder. “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
Are You A Humble Person — Allan Pole Perhaps you know of a friend or family member with qualities that make them attractive, yet these qualities have nothing to do with appearance, talent, intelligence or wealth. The Apostle Paul describes three such qualities in Ephesians 4:2. “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with
I drove by two middle-aged men standing on a sidewalk in Calgary. They were kissing each other on the cheeks and my first thought was, “They must be gay.” I took another look and I remembered seeing similar looking men greeting and kissing each other in Ukraine. The kiss in the ancient world was both
This year, we were pleased when a family from our Monday night ESL class decided to join our church. They were from a Catholic background but seemed comfortable at our Anglican church. The children quickly fit into Sunday School, and the family said they enjoyed the service. After a few months, I asked them if
An obscure gardener died in a small town. His name was Hubert Bales, and he was one of the shyest men around. When he talked, he squirmed, blinked his eyes rapidly and smiled nervously. Hubert never ran in influential circles. He grew shrubs and trees, working with his hands the plot of land left by his father. He was anything
When a guest was received in Palestine 2,000 years ago the host performed certain courtesies. There was the kiss of welcome. Water was provided to wash the dust from his feet, and oil to anoint his head. The guests would recline at the meal and there was free access for the passer-by to stop and
I am, by nature, a shy introvert. It’s not that I dislike people. I wouldn’t want to live out the rest of my days in a cabin on a mountaintop. However, I have been hurt and let down by people. So much of leadership and making disciples rests in the hands of others who have
Marty was touring Europe just as they were breaking down the Berlin Wall. Wanting to get some historic pieces of the Wall, he headed for Berlin. Because he found the hotels there beyond his means, he asked a young policeman if he knew of an inexpensive place where he could stay. The policeman told Marty
When I was a boy I suffered from asthma and hay fever. Being allergic to hay and growing up on a farm was a tough combination during the summer months. When the air was thick with dust and pollen I would suffer through some sleepless nights coughing and sneezing. I vividly remember my mom enduring
Some guy bought a new fridge for his house. To get rid of his old fridge, he put it in his front yard and hung a sign on it saying: “Free to good home. You want it, you take it.” For three days, the fridge sat there without even one person looking twice at it.
As fall transitions to winter, CESLM is entering a new season as well. This past year has seen many transitions in our organization. The latest is our new Board of Directors. Some of the faces will be familiar – we’d like to welcome back founders Madeline and Mel Johnson as well as our secretary Dale
In the fall of 2016 I sensed the Lord direct me to revisit the conversation that He had with the Samaritan woman at the well in John chapter 4. While the disciples went into town to buy lunch, Jesus sat down to rest at the well. Seizing the opportunity for a life-changing conversation, Jesus started
One Day Workshop Fall 2017 A year ago, we didn’t have enough registrants to hold our annual Reaching Out With English (ROWE). It was a blow to us at CESLM, since we were proud of our 30-hour training, and saw that it was filling a vital need here in Calgary, training volunteers to start ESL
~ Spring Training May 22, 2017 – Ooh la la! What a great time at 2017’s Spring Training Conference that Cooperative ESL Ministries hosted! God is good. It was so beneficial to connect with each other and the speakers were such a big blessing. Our theme was Invited in – The Journey so Far, and
About this time of year, we often feel that we could use some new ideas for our conversation classes. Here are four of them. The first, is a great idea I learned from my teaching partner, Cindy Hubert. Adjective + Occupation Activity Cindy handed out a set of cards with occupation titles such as: policeman, photographer,
